Hate Soggy Lettuce? We Tested the Best Salad Spinners for Clean and Crisp Greens

Our Top Pick

Cuisinart Salad Spinner

$17 at Amazon $22 $17 at Walmart $5 at Macys

A plethora of great features make this all-plastic salad spinner a winner. The lid has a hole and a strainer, so you can fill the whole thing with water, use the spinner to agitate the greens, then pour the water out through the hole while the strainer keeps everything inside. This is especially helpful for very dirty or sandy greens, such as spinach, and it's the only spinner we tested that had this feature.

Two sturdy clamps keep the lid in place for storage while you're pouring water out. The spinning action is initiated by a knob that you turn, which is comfortable to hold and can be turned in either direction—nice for lefties.

Despite the grippy base, it wobbles a little on the counter, but not enough to travel very far. And it's super effective: Of all the spinners we tested, this one left the least water remaining on the greens. The sleek, clear plastic bowl is attractive enough to use as a serving bowl. The only downsides? It's not dishwasher safe and, with the big knob sticking out, it's bulky to store.

The Details: Manual, knob; 5 quarts; 8.2 x 8.2 x 8.3 inches

Best Budget

IKEA UPPFYLLD Salad Spinner

$8 at Ikea

Count on IKEA to make an affordable salad spinner that's great for folks on a budget or for outfitting a second home or rental unit. It's less than $10, and although it's compact, it's big enough for four to six servings of lettuce or spinach.

This spinner uses a rotating knob mechanism and has to be operated with both hands—the other hand holds the lid down, or it will tip over. It's a little arduous to crank, but the operation is quiet, and although it's not the most effective spinner in our bunch, the greens are dry enough to use. The bowl can be used for serving, but it's got a fairly basic design and is made of filmy clear plastic that makes it look like the base of a food storage container. This spinner should also be washed by hand.

The Details: Manual, knob; up to six servings of lettuce or spinach; 9 x 6 inches

Best Design

Dreamfarm Salad Spinner

$35 at Williams Sonoma

Dreamfarm is known for its clever designs and tongue-in-cheek names. So it's no surprise that Spina, the company's two-in-one salad spinner and colander, would be our favorite for design. This is basically a colander with a handle that rotates on a frame. Rinse the greens while the handle is in the side position, then rotate the handle to the top, set the base in the kitchen sink (there's a rubbery foot that holds it steady), and push down the handle, which is on a threaded column like a top. The colander basket starts spinning, and you can watch the water spray out of your greens—satisfying!

This was, by far, one of the most effective spinners, leaving very little water clinging to the greens, so we'll forgive this spinner for not coming with a bowl that can be used for serving. It's even dishwasher safe, and the handle retracts inside the colander so it can nest in a bowl for storage.

The Details: Manual; 3 quarts; 15.75 x 8.66 x 4.33 inches

Best Pump-Operated

Farberware Professional Salad Spinner

$33 $20 at Amazon $20 at Walmart $27 at Wayfair

This model was one of the most effective ones we tried, wicking away more water than most of the other spinners on this list. We particularly loved its curvaceous design; the lid is rounded, sleek, and shiny, while the bowl is crystal-clear plastic with an attractive curve and a bright green grippy ring at the base...nice enough to bring your fresh salad right to the dinner table.

The spin basket has an unusual pattern of cutouts; some are horizontal while others are angled upwards and downwards, which might account for how thoroughly the water was able to pull away from the greens. The spinning action works with a pump mechanism, and the pump handle is a comfortably rounded shape made of grippy plastic. It feels great in the hand and doesn't require much effort to operate for lefties and righties alike.

When not in use, a lock slides in place to keep the lid retracted, though the top of the knob still protrudes a little from the lid, which might make it hard if you need to stack other items on it for storage. There's a brake button, too, but it has to be pushed down pretty hard before it stops spinning. Possibly the only issue with this cheap and cheerful spinner is that it's hand-wash only.

The Details: Pump-operated; 6.65 quarts; 10.31 x 10.31 x 7.44 inches

Best Pull Cord

Zyliss Easy Spin Salad Spinner

$37 at Amazon $37 at Sur La Table $37 at Wayfair

This updated version of Zyliss' classic salad spinner has a redesigned spin basket designed differently than other spinners. Instead of being perfectly round, it has wide ribs and is designed to "fluff" the salad when you hit the brakes on the spinner. We're unsure if this design is more effective than a traditional round bowl, but the spinner performed well, yielding fairly dry greens.

The handle is wide and comfortable; even someone with limited mobility would have no trouble with it. The handle automatically retracts after being pulled out, so there's no need to wind it manually. The basket shape makes it a bit difficult to clean, but the outer bowl is dishwasher-safe. The whole thing can double as a serving bowl or storage container, and the spinning mechanism fits flat into a holder on top of the lid so it doesn't stick out when it's stored.

The Details: Pull cord; 5 quarts; 10.1 x 10.1 x 5.65 inches

Best Stainless Steel

Williams Sonoma Stainless-Steel Salad Spinner

$100 at Williams Sonoma

The salad spinner from Williams Sonoma features sleek lines, a smooth, quiet operation, and a beautiful, seamless design. The outer bowl is made of clear plastic; it would work well as a durable serving bowl that could stand up to homemade Caesar dressing, although there are half-circle cutouts on either side where the lid fits in place. The inner spinning basket is made of stainless steel, with smaller cutouts than other spinners. It'll likely quickly become your favorite colander as well since boiling water won't warp the shape like it might with plastic, and the fine holes will keep small foods like grains or sprouts contained.

This spinner uses a crank-style handle on the lid to get the spinner going. The crank ratchets, so you don't actually have to turn it a full rotation. However, it only goes in one direction, which might be awkward for a left-handed person to use. The crank is hard to turn at first but gets easier once the basket begins turning. The brake stops the spinning in an instant. This spinner is dishwasher safe, but storage might be an issue: The knob sticks up and tacks more than an inch of height onto this model.

The Details: Manual, knob; 4 quarts; 11 x 6.5 inches

Best Space-Saving

Prepworks by Progressive Collapsible Salad Spinner

$25 at Amazon $25 at Target $32 at Walmart

Small kitchen owners, this one's for you. The Prepworks Collapsible salad spinner is designed to flatten down to half its size (only three inches) while not compromising capacity or performance. A wide band of flexible, silicone-like plastic spans the middle of the bowl and the colander insert, folding on itself for storage.

The lid, too, is designed with space-saving in mind. While other lids have a protruding knob or are domed, this one has a knob that's flush with the flat top, so things can be stacked on it in storage. To use, you grip the embedded turning knob, and rotate it around the top of the lid, a motion comfortable for both left- and right-handed users.

The mechanism is smooth, relatively quiet, and doesn't require much effort, although you do have to hold the bowl with your other hand for stability. To stop the spinning motion, squeeze the flexible part of the outer bowl. The coloful spinner bowl is also great for serving. The lid fits snugly on top and would work nicely to cover what's inside for storage or transporting, and we like that you can collapse the bowl afterward if you're taking a big salad to a picnic or potluck.

The Details: Manual, knob; 3 quarts; 25 x 25 x 8 inches

Easiest to Operate

OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner

$30 at Amazon $30 at Target $30 at Walmart

We'll forever have a soft spot for how OXO designs products that are easy and comfortable to operate. The company's Good Grips salad spinner uses a similar design to the steel spinner, but the bowl is clear plastic and can double as an attractive serving bowl.

Like its sister product, the spinning is initiated by pushing the pump, and in this model, the brake works even better, immediately freezing the basket's motion. We liked that the pump handle is comfortable and grippy, that it can be used with the right or left hand, and that the whole thing is relatively lightweight.

It's easy to operate with only one hand, and although it wobbles a bit when the spinner is going at full tilt, it doesn't move around much on the counter. The lid is relatively flat, so stacking it under items in a storage cabinet shouldn't be an issue. Add to that ease of cleaning: it's dishwasher safe and the lid easily comes apart if needed.

The Details: Pump-operated; 6.2 quarts; 6 x 10.5 x 10.5 inches